The National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy aims to foster a sustainable and high-quality workforce of early childhood teachers and educators.
On this page:
About the strategy
The National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy is called Shaping our Future. It aims to foster a sustainable and high-quality workforce of early childhood teachers and educators.
A highly skilled and well-supported workforce will:
- improve outcomes for children
- support women’s workforce participation.
The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) led the development of the strategy in collaboration with:
- the early childhood education and care sector
- Australian Government
- all state and territory governments
- education and training providers
- peak organisations
- regulatory bodies.
Action areas
The strategy outlines 21 short, medium and long-term actions across the focus areas of:
- professional recognition
- attraction and retention
- leadership and capability
- wellbeing
- qualifications and career pathways
- data and evidence.
These actions build on the investment by governments and the sector in workforce-related initiatives.
Read information on Shaping our future by visiting the National Workforce Strategy page of the ACECQA website.
Implementation and evaluation plan
In September 2022, we welcomed ACECQA’s release of the implementation and evaluation plan for the strategy.
This plan commits all governments and the sector to progressing the strategy’s actions as a priority. The plan outlines:
- implementation steps for each action
- how progress will be monitored and measured.
Read the Shaping Our Future: Implementation and Evaluation Plan available on the National Workforce Strategy page of the ACECQA website.
Next steps
Implementation has started, led by government and sector organisations.
Biennial national workforce forums commence in November 2023. These will provide stakeholders and governments with an opportunity to review and share progress.
The strategy is a living document. This ensures it can respond to emerging workforce challenges over the next 10 years.